Reflections from the Dominican Republic Medical Mission

When I initially signed up to attend the medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic, I knew that God would use the experience to work in my life and in the lives of others around me. However, I did not expect the lessons I learned from so many people. Although traveling to a foreign country is exciting alone, the medical experience, spiritual influence and guidance, and lifelong connections I gained from the trip are what made it one of the best experiences of my life.

As I was boarding the plane to fly from Jacksonville, Florida to New York City to meet the team, I was excited, but I also thought about all the ways I was not prepared for the trip. I immediately began to think that my Spanish was not fluent enough to communicate effectively with the people in the clinics and that I was just a hopeful future physician. When I met the team members at the airport to board the plane for Santo Domingo, we all instantly connected. I felt as if I had known these people most of my life. I was reminded that God brings together His people and equips each person to accomplish His perfect mission.

After traveling from the capitol to the mountains to set up the clinic, I was ready for the week ahead. For all the clinic days, I rotated through the triage area taking vitals and presenting symptoms, worked in the pharmacy, and worked with each physician in his and her specialty to get a broad perspective on medicine. It was especially nice to see what medicine would be like without extensive EMR and documentation to avoid being sued, as this exists in some areas of the world.

Although the medical experiences were beyond what I even hoped for, perhaps the most important lesson I was able to take from this trip is how to use medicine to amplify God’s kingdom. It is nice to be able to temporarily “fix” one’s medical ailments; however, it is even better to treat those physical issues and also provide help for one’s personal life. Being able to share God’s love and truths with the patients was something that I had never seen in the medical field prior to the trip. The physicians on the trip mentioned to me that they consistently live to share God’s love in their practices each day they work because of what God has done for them. Being able to learn from these well-respected physicians and how they practice medicine was something that I will continue to practice throughout my pursuit to become a physician.

This is only the beginning. #AmplifyingGodsKingdom

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A question that encompasses many Christian’s lives: “How do I follow God’s will for my life?”. As Christians, we should desire to stay in God’s will for our lives. If we are truly following Christ, we should have the desire to please and serve Him.

If you are always questioning if what you are doing is God’s will, then how can you serve Him to our absolute best ability? The answer is rather simple: focus on God. This is easy to say, but it is not easy to live out on a daily basis. There are a few things that I have to remind myself of all the time to be able to be assured that I am living out God’s will for my life.

Pray

First off, prayer is important. If prayer is not an important part of your life, you can be certain that you are not in God’s will. If you are not on the same wavelength as God, you are not going to make the decisions that He wants you to make.

A question that encompasses many Christian’s lives: “How do I follow God’s will for my life?”. As Christians, we should desire to stay in God’s will for our lives. If we are truly following Christ, we should have the desire to please and serve Him.

If you are always questioning if what you are doing is God’s will, then how can you serve Him to our absolute best ability? The answer is rather simple: focus on God. This is easy to say, but it is not easy to live out on a daily basis. There are a few things that I have to remind myself of all the time to be able to be assured that I am living out God’s will for my life.

Pray

First off, prayer is important. If prayer is not an important part of your life, you can be certain that you are not in God’s will. If you are not on the same wavelength as God, you are not going to make the decisions that He wants you to make.

If you have ever called customer service or a large company, you most likely have received a digital operator that will make you follow several commands. “Press 1 for service…press 2 for order info…press 3 if you’re just having fun listening to these commands!”

When I receive a digital operator, I often get annoyed, especially if the conversation goes nowhere. I don’t like to waste time with things that are not going to help me get me where I am needing to go. I’m sure you think the same way.

Prayer does not work like a digital operator.

We don’t have to go through a list of commands or even secretaries before we reach God. He is never busy, and He is always available. I believe that many forget that we have a direct line to God. He wants to hear from us, and we can call anytime…without any wait lists or voicemails to catch!

If you have ever called customer service or a large company, you most likely have received a digital operator that will make you follow several commands. “Press 1 for service…press 2 for order info…press 3 if you’re just having fun listening to these commands!”

When I receive a digital operator, I often get annoyed, especially if the conversation goes nowhere. I don’t like to waste time with things that are not going to help me get me where I am needing to go. I’m sure you think the same way.

Prayer does not work like a digital operator.

We don’t have to go through a list of commands or even secretaries before we reach God. He is never busy, and He is always available. I believe that many forget that we have a direct line to God. He wants to hear from us, and we can call anytime…without any wait lists or voicemails to catch!

Busy. It’s a word we hear often. Many use it as an excuse to get out of things or to compensate for a lack of commitment. I’m we all have heard, “I’m sorry! I was just to busy….”

Reasons To Not Spread Yourself Thin

It increases stress- The more you have to worry about, the more stressed you will become. We are not super-humans, no matter how much we want to believe it. Stress not only causes short-term problems, it also causes long-term physiological problems. It has been proven that stress increases your risk for disease.

It increases burnout- What exactly is burnout? Here’s the official definition of it:

Burnout: Physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.

It reduces your efficiency– I’m sure we all know people who say they can multi-task efficiently. This might be true to a certain extent; however, it is not as effective as focusing on a single task. When you commit to many different tasks, your time is more spread out. t is important to keep this in mind when committing to things.

Busy. It’s a word we hear often. Many use it as an excuse to get out of things or to compensate for a lack of commitment. I’m we all have heard, “I’m sorry! I was just to busy….”

Reasons To Not Spread Yourself Thin

It increases stress- The more you have to worry about, the more stressed you will become. We are not super-humans, no matter how much we want to believe it. Stress not only causes short-term problems, it also causes long-term physiological problems. It has been proven that stress increases your risk for disease.

It increases burnout- What exactly is burnout? Here’s the official definition of it:

Burnout: Physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.

It reduces your efficiency– I’m sure we all know people who say they can multi-task efficiently. This might be true to a certain extent; however, it is not as effective as focusing on a single task. When you commit to many different tasks, your time is more spread out. t is important to keep this in mind when committing to things.

When you wake up and your feet hit the floor, a new day begins. It is important to have a purpose. God gives us another day to live for a reason. The reality is that we engage in a battle every day.

In order to win, we have to have a purpose.

If you go about your day with no purpose, it can be a waste of time. Instead, God calls us to live with a purpose…In other words, we are called to live intentionally.

What Is Your Purpose?

This can sometimes be a hard question to answer. The ultimate purpose for every Christian should be to glory God and to make Him known to others. The way we can do this effectively is by living intentionally. Wherever God places us, we should be ambassadors for Him.

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

When you wake up and your feet hit the floor, a new day begins. It is important to have a purpose. God gives us another day to live for a reason. The reality is that we engage in a battle every day.

In order to win, we have to have a purpose.

If you go about your day with no purpose, it can be a waste of time. Instead, God calls us to live with a purpose…In other words, we are called to live intentionally.

What Is Your Purpose?

This can sometimes be a hard question to answer. The ultimate purpose for every Christian should be to glory God and to make Him known to others. The way we can do this effectively is by living intentionally. Wherever God places us, we should be ambassadors for Him.

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”